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Over the past year, several groups of female activists have taken footage of themselves driving, posting pictures and videos on social media to draw attention to their campaign. The most recent campaign against the ban happened last month.

The council member told The Associated Press news agency that the Shura Council had made the recommendations in a secret, closed session held in the past month. The member spoke on condition of anonymity because the recommendations had not been made public.

Under the recommendations, only women over 30 would be allowed to drive and they would need permission from a male relative – usually a husband or father, but lacking those, a brother or son.

They would be allowed to drive from 7am to 8pm, Saturday to Wednesday and noon to 8pm on Thursday and Friday.

The conditions also require that a woman driver wear conservative dress and no make-up, the official said. Within cities, they can drive without a male relative in the car, but outside of cities, a male is required to be present.

The council said a "female traffic department" would have to be created to deal with female drivers if their cars broke down or they encountered other problems, and to issue fines. It recommended the female traffic officers be under the supervision of the "religious agencies".

The council placed heavy restrictions on interactions between female drivers and male traffic officers or other male drivers, and stiff penalties for those who broke them. Merely speaking to a female driver, it said, was punishable by a one-month prison sentence and a fine.

While there is no specific law to prevent women from driving in Saudi Arabia, women cannot apply for driver licences and they are arrested if found behind the wheel.

The 150-member Shura Council is appointed by the king, drawing on various sectors of society to act as the closest thing to a parliament in the kingdom, though it has no legislative powers. King Abdullah appointed women to it for the first time, and now there are 30 female members.

The driving ban has long forced families to hire live-in drivers for women. Women who can't afford the £200 to £300 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

Last year, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia said a ban on women driving in the conservative Gulf state protects society from "evil".

Saudi comedian Hisham Fageeh's version of the Bob Marley classic No Woman, No Cry, protesting ban on women driving in the kingdom became a viral sensation in 2013